ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commi­ssion on Tuesday completed the divestment process of Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) by handing over the share certificates to the buyer IMS Engineering (Pvt) Ltd.

In a final settlement of the Rs1.4 billion transaction, the buyer has not only made the full payment but also taken over additional liabilities of Rs752 million payable to the Bank of Khyber.

The government divested its entire equity stake of 96.6pc of shareholding. HEC, owned by the State Engineering Corporation of Pakistan, was engaged in the manufacturing of power transformers with an annual designated capacity of 3,000 MVA.

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HEC is located on prime industrial leasehold land of about 62 acres in the Hattar industrial estate.

Privatisation Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad congratulated all the stakeholders who contributed towards the conclusion of the sale agreement including the Special Investment Facilitation Council, State Bank of Pakistan, ministries of finance and industries, and other senior officials were present on the occasion.

Bank of Khyber has issued an NOC for the conclusion of the transaction.

The minister also informed the ceremony that the HEC buyers are replacing the current set-up with state-of-the-art German-made machinery and equipment and will also endeavour to meet local demand which is currently met through imports.

Mr Fawad expressed the hope that the privatisation of HEC will result in increased productivity, new employment, tax revenue as well as foreign exchange earnings for the country.

IMS Chairman Mahmood Haq said that a plan for better utilisation of the facility is already in place which is expected to be able to make exports of $250 to $300m in two to three years.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024